Systems and methods for locating a wireless device

ABSTRACT

A system may include at least one computer-readable storage medium including a set of instructions for locating a wireless device having wireless fidelity (WiFi) capability, and at least one processor in communication with the computer-readable storage medium, wherein when executing the set of instructions, the at least one processor is directed to: obtain a positioning request from the wireless device, the wireless device is in communication with at least one WiFi network; obtain WiFi data from the wireless device; and determine a default location associated with the WiFi data as a location of the wireless device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/CN2017/082744, filed on May 2, 2017, which claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 201610409715.1, filed on Jun. 7, 2016,the content of which is incorporated herein in its entirety byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to technology field of wirelessLocation Based Service (LBS), and in particular, systems and methods forlocating a wireless device based on WiFi data.

BACKGROUND

Location Based Service (LBS) has become an essential feature for awireless device, referring to the geographic coordinates of the wirelessdevice, and/or a user thereof. Global positioning system (GPS) basedmethod provides global location information and have a relatively highdegree of accuracy, however a problem with the GPS based method is thatthe GPS signal is often shielded by structures such as buildings, trees,bridges, and concrete objects. Methods and systems for locating awireless device with high degree of accuracy in structures are widelywelcomed and in high demand.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a system may includeat least one computer-readable storage medium including a set ofinstructions for locating a wireless device having wireless fidelity(WiFi) capability, and at least one processor in communication with thecomputer-readable storage medium, wherein when executing the set ofinstructions, the at least one processor is directed to: obtain apositioning request from the wireless device, the wireless device is incommunication with at least one WiFi network; obtain WiFi data from thewireless device; and determine a default location associated with theWiFi data as a location of the wireless device.

In some embodiments, the WiFi data is associated with at least onestructure, and the default location includes an entrance of the at leastone structure.

In some embodiments, the at least one structure shields globalpositioning system (GPS) signals.

In some embodiments, the wireless device has global positioning system(GPS) capability, and the at least one processor is further directed to:obtain a trace of locations of the wireless device according to GPSsignals associated with the wireless device, the trace including abreakpoint at where the at least one WiFi network is located; anddetermine the default location based on the trace.

In some embodiments, to determine the default location associated withthe WiFi data, the at least one processor is further directed to;receive a WiFi fingerprint detected by the wireless device; anddetermine at least one candidate WiFi fingerprint from a WiFifingerprint library based on similarity between the WiFi fingerprint andreference WiFi fingerprints in the WiFi fingerprint library, each of theat least one candidate WiFi fingerprint being associated with at leastone candidate default location and each candidate default location beingassociated with at least one candidate WiFi fingerprint.

In some embodiments, the WiFi fingerprint includes a combination ofidentity of at least one WiFi detected by the wireless device and signalstrength of the at least one WiFi.

In some embodiments, to determine the default location associated withthe WiFi data, the at least one processor is further directed to, for acandidate default location of the at least one candidate defaultlocation, identify one or more candidate WiFi fingerprints associatedwith the candidate default location; for each of the one or morecandidate WiFi fingerprint, determine a probability componentcontributed by the candidate WiFi fingerprint and associated with aprobability that the candidate default location is the default location;determine an overall probability value that the candidate defaultlocation is the default location based on the one or more probabilitycomponents; and determine the default location from the at least onecandidate default location based on the at least one overall probabilityvalue.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further directed to:for each of a plurality of wireless devices that appeared within adistance from the structure, collect a WiFi fingerprint detected by thewireless device; and establish the WiFi fingerprint library based on theWiFi fingerprints collected from the plurality of wireless device.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method forlocating a wireless device having wireless fidelity (WiFi) capabilitymay include obtaining a positioning request from the wireless device,the wireless device being in communication with at least one WiFinetwork; obtaining WiFi data from the wireless device; and determine adefault location associated with the WiFi data as a location of thewireless device.

In some embodiments, the WiFi data is associated with at least onestructure, and the default location includes an entrance of the at leastone structure.

In some embodiments, the at least one structure shields the globalpositioning system (GPS) signals.

In some embodiments, the wireless device has global positioning system(GPS) capability, and the method may further include: obtaining a traceof locations of the wireless device according to GPS signals associatedwith the wireless device, the trace including a breakpoint at where theat least one WiFi network is located; and determining the defaultlocation based on the trace.

In some embodiments, the determining of the default location associatedwith the WiFi data may include: receiving a WiFi fingerprint detected bythe wireless device; and determining at least one candidate WiFifingerprint from a WiFi fingerprint library based on similarity betweenthe WiFi fingerprint and reference WiFi fingerprints in the WiFifingerprint library, each of the at least one candidate WiFi fingerprintbeing associated with at least one candidate default location and eachcandidate default location being associated with at least one candidateWiFi fingerprint.

In some embodiments, the WiFi fingerprint includes a combination ofidentity of at least one WiFi detected by the wireless device; andsignal strength of the at least one WiFi.

In some embodiments, the determining of the default location associatedwith the WiFi data further includes: for a candidate default location ofthe at least one candidate default location, identifying one or morecandidate WiFi fingerprints associated with the candidate defaultlocation; for each of the one or more candidate WiFi fingerprint,determining a probability component contributed by the candidate WiFifingerprint and associated with a probability that the candidate defaultlocation is the default location; determining an overall probabilityvalue that the candidate default location is the default location basedon the one or more probability components; and determining the defaultlocation from the at least one candidate default location based on theat least one overall probability value.

In some embodiments, the method may further include: for each of aplurality of wireless devices that appeared within a distance from thestructure, collecting a WiFi fingerprint detected by the wirelessdevice; and establishing the WiFi fingerprint library based on the WiFifingerprints collected from the plurality of wireless device.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, anon-transitory computer readable medium, comprising at least one set ofinstructions for locating a wireless device having wireless fidelity(WiFi) capability, when executed by at least one processor of a computerserver, the at least one set of instructions directs the at least oneprocessor to perform acts of: obtaining a positioning request from thewireless device, the wireless device being in communication with atleast one WiFi network; obtaining WiFi data from the wireless device;and determine a default location associated with the WiFi data as alocation of the wireless device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in terms of exemplaryembodiments. The foregoing and other aspects of embodiments of presentdisclosure are made more evident in the following detail description,when read in conjunction with the attached drawing figures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for on-demand serviceaccording to some embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware andsoftware components of a computing device according to some embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary processing engine according tosome embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for locating a wirelessdevice according to some embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for locating a wirelessdevice according to some embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for determining a defaultlocation of a wireless device according to some embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an exemplary relationship between at least onecandidate WiFi fingerprint and at least one candidate default locationaccording to some embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for determining a defaultlocation of a wireless device according to some embodiments; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for establishing a WiFifingerprint library according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the present disclosure, and is provided in thecontext of a particular application and its requirements. Variousmodifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein maybe applied to other embodiments and applications without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the presentdisclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown, but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,”“comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present disclosure,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, may become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description with reference to the accompanying drawing(s), allof which form a part of this specification. It is to be expresslyunderstood, however, that the drawing(s) are for the purpose ofillustration and description only and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure. It is understood that the drawings arenot to scale.

Moreover, while the system and method in the present disclosure isdescribed primarily in regard to locate a wireless device, it shouldalso be understood that this is only one exemplary embodiment. Thesystem or method of the present disclosure may be applied to any otherkind of on-demand service. For example, the system or method of thepresent disclosure may be applied to different transportation systemsincluding land, ocean, aerospace, or the like, or any combinationthereof. The vehicle of the transportation systems may include a taxi, aprivate car, a hitch, a bus, a train, a bullet train, a high speed rail,a subway, a vessel, an aircraft, a spaceship, a hot-air balloon, adriverless vehicle, or the like, or any combination thereof. Thetransportation system may also include any transportation system thatapplies management and/or distribution, for example, a system forsending and/or receiving an express. The application scenarios of thesystem or method of the present disclosure may include a webpage, aplug-in of a browser, a client terminal, a custom system, an internalanalysis system, an artificial intelligence robot, or the like, or anycombination thereof.

The term “passenger,” “requester,” “service requester,” and “customer”in the present disclosure are used interchangeably to refer to anindividual, an entity or a tool that may request or order a service.Also, the term “driver,” “provider,” “service provider,” and “supplier”in the present disclosure are used interchangeably to refer to anindividual, an entity or a tool that may provide a service or facilitatethe providing of the service. The term “user” in the present disclosuremay refer to an individual, an entity or a tool that may request aservice, order a service, provide a service, or facilitate the providingof the service. For example, the user may be a passenger, a driver, anoperator, or the like, or any combination thereof. In the presentdisclosure, “passenger” and “passenger terminal” may be usedinterchangeably, and “driver” and “driver terminal” may be usedinterchangeably.

The term “request” in the present disclosure refers to a request thatmay be initiated by a passenger, a requester, a service requester, acustomer, a driver, a provider, a service provider, a supplier, or thelike, or any combination thereof. The request may be accepted by any oneof a passenger, a requester, a service requester, a customer, a driver,a provider, a service provider, or a supplier. The request may bechargeable, or free.

The position and/or the location in the present disclosure may beacquired by positioning technology embedded in a wireless device (e.g.,the passenger terminal, the driver terminal, etc.). The positioningtechnology used in the present disclosure may include a globalpositioning system (GPS), a global navigation satellite system(GLONASS), a compass navigation system (COMPASS), a Galileo positioningsystem, a quasi-zenith satellite system (QZSS), a wireless fidelity(WiFi) positioning technology, or the like, or any combination thereof.One or more of the above positioning technologies may be usedinterchangeably in the present disclosure. For example, the GPS-basedmethod and the WiFi-based method may be used together as positioningtechnologies to locate the wireless device.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to online systems andmethods for locating a wireless device based on WiFi data. According tothe present disclosure, the systems and methods may determine a defaultlocation of the wireless device based on WiFi data. The default locationof the wireless device may be an entrance of a building or a group ofbuildings.

It should be noted that Location Based Service (LBS) provides a locationfor a wireless device and/or a user thereof. In an outdoor environment,GPS-based method provides global location information and a relativelyhigh accuracy. However, the GPS signal becomes weak in an indoorenvironment, or around outdoor structures such as a tree, a bridge, or aconcrete object. In an indoor environment where the GPS signal cannotaccurately measure the location of the wireless device, the locatingmethod such as WiFi-based method, Bluetooth-based method,ultrasound-based method, infrared-based method, etc., may provide aprecise indoor location by virtue of a device. However, the preciseindoor location often needs a high economic input for data acquisitionand data updating. Moreover, the precise indoor location often has apoor application scenario and low accuracy. In some applicationscenarios, the LBS provides a default location of a wireless device whenthe wireless device is inside a building or among a group of buildings,which is often needed. For example, a passenger may get on a taxi at adefault location when his/her wireless device requests a positioningrequest in a building or among a group of buildings, and a driver maypick up the passenger at the default location. The default location isnot a precise location inside the building or among the group ofbuilding. The default location is just an entrance of the building orthe group of buildings. The default location provides convenience forboth the passenger and the driver.

It should be noted that Location Based Service (LBS) for onlineon-demand service is a new form of service rooted only in post-Internetera. It provides technical solutions to users that could raise only inpost-Internet era. In pre-Internet era, GPS or navigation technology arenot available. If a service provider needs to know a location of aservice requester, the service requester usually provides the locationto the service provider through telephone call. The location of theservice requester may be difficult for the service provider to findwithout GPS and navigation technology. The LBS for online on-demandservice, however, may allow the service provider to find the location ofthe service requester more easily. It may also provide a defaultlocation that is convenient for both the service requester and theservice provider. Therefore, through Internet, the LBS for onlineon-demand service may provide a much more efficient service for theservice provider and the service requester, which may never occur in thetraditional pre-Internet era.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 100 as an onlineplatform for on-demand service according to some embodiments. Forexample, the on-demand service system 100 may be an onlinetransportation service platform for transportation services such as taxihailing, chauffeur service, express car, carpool, bus service, driverhire and shuttle service. System 100 may include a server 110, a network120, a passenger terminal 130, a driver terminal 140, and a database150. The server 110 may include a processing engine 112.

The server 110 may be configured to process information and/or datarelating to a service request. For example, the server 110 may determinea location for a wireless device. In some embodiments, the server 110may be a single server, or a server group. The server group may becentralized, or distributed (e.g., the server 110 may be a distributedsystem). In some embodiments, the server 110 may be local or remote. Forexample, the server 110 may access information and/or data stored inpassenger terminal 130, driver terminal 140, and/or database 150 vianetwork 120. As another example, the server 110 may be directlyconnected to the passenger terminal 130, the driver terminal 140, and/orthe database 150 to access stored information and/or data. In someembodiments, the server 110 may be implemented on a cloud platform.Merely by way of example, the cloud platform may include a privatecloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributedcloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the server 110 may be implemented on acomputing device having one or more components illustrated in FIG. 2 inthe present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the server 110 may include a processing engine 112.The processing engine 112 may process information and/or data relatingto the service request to perform one or more functions described in thepresent disclosure. For example, the processing engine 112 may obtain apositioning request from a wireless device. As another example, theprocessing engine 112 may obtain WiFi data from the wireless device. Asstill another example, the processing engine 112 may determine a defaultlocation associated with the WiFi data as a location of the wirelessdevice. In some embodiments, the processing engine 112 may include oneor more processing engines (e.g., single-core processing engine(s) ormulti-core processor(s)). Merely by way of example, the processingengine 112 may include a central processing unit (CPU), anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application-specificinstruction-set processor (ASIR), a graphics processing unit (GPU), aphysics processing unit (PPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), acontroller, a microcontroller unit, a reduced instruction-set computer(RISC), a microprocessor, or the like, or any combination thereof.

The network 120 may facilitate exchange of information and/or data. Insome embodiments, one or more components in the system 100 (e.g., theserver 110, the passenger terminal 130, the driver terminal 140, and thedatabase 150) may send and/or receive information and/or data to/fromother component(s) in the system 100 via the network 120. For example,the server 110 may obtain/acquire service request from the passengerterminal 130 via the network 120. In some embodiments, the network 120may be any type of wired or wireless network, or combination thereof.Merely by way of example, the network 120 may include a cable network, awireline network, an optical fiber network, a tele communicationsnetwork, an intranet, an Internet, a local area network (LAN), a widearea network (WAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a metropolitanarea network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a public telephoneswitched network (PSTN), a Bluetooth™ network, a ZigBee™ network, a nearfield communication (NFC) network, a global system for mobilecommunications (GSM) network, a code-division multiple access (CDMA)network, a time-division multiple access (TDMA) network, a generalpacket radio service (GPRS) network, an enhanced data rate for GSMevolution (EDGE) network, a wideband code division multiple access(WCDMA) network, a high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) network, along term evolution (LTE) network, a user datagram protocol (UDP)network, a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP)network, a short message service (SMS) network, a wireless applicationprotocol (WAP) network, a ultra wide band (UWB) network, an infraredray, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, theserver 110 may include one or more network access points. For example,the server 110 may include wired or wireless network access points suchas base stations and/or internet exchange points 120-1, 120-2, . . . ,through which one or more components of the system 100 may be connectedto the network 120 to exchange data and/or information.

The passenger terminal 130 may be used by a passenger to request anon-demand service. For example, a user of the passenger terminal 130 mayuse the passenger terminal 130 to send a service request forhimself/herself or another user, or receive service and/or informationor instructions from the server 110. In some embodiments, the term“user” and “passenger terminal” may be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, the passenger terminal 130 may include a mobiledevice 130-1, a tablet computer 130-2, a laptop computer 130-3, abuilt-in device in a motor vehicle 130-4, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the mobile device 130-1 mayinclude a smart home device, a wearable device, a smart mobile device, avirtual reality device, an augmented reality device, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the smart home device mayinclude a smart lighting device, a control device of an intelligentelectrical apparatus, a smart monitoring device, a smart television, asmart video camera, an interphone, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the wearable device may include a smartbracelet, a smart footgear, a smart glass, a smart helmet, a smartwatch, a smart clothing, a smart backpack, a smart accessory, or thelike, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the smart mobiledevice may include a smartphone, a personal digital assistance (FDA), agaming device, a navigation device, a point of sale (POS) device, or thelike, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the virtualreality device and/or the augmented reality device may include a virtualreality helmet, a virtual reality glass, a virtual reality patch, anaugmented reality helmet, an augmented reality glass, an augmentedreality patch, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, thevirtual reality device and/or the augmented reality device may include aGoogle Glass, an Oculus Rift, a Hololens, a Gear VR, etc. In someembodiments, built-in device in the motor vehicle 130-4 may include anonboard computer, an onboard television, etc. Merely by way of example,the passenger terminal 130 may include a controller (e.g., aremote-controller).

In some embodiments, the passenger terminal 130 may be a wireless devicewith positioning technology for locating the position of the user and/orthe passenger terminal 130. In some embodiments, the passenger terminal130 may communicate with other positioning device to determine theposition of the user, and/or the passenger terminal 130. In someembodiments, the passenger terminal 130 may send positioning informationto the server 110.

In some embodiments, the driver terminal 140 may be similar to, or thesame device as the passenger terminal 130. In some embodiments, thedriver terminal 140 may be a wireless device with positioning technologyfor locating the position of the driver and/or the driver terminal 140.In some embodiments, the passenger terminal 130 and/or the driverterminal 140 may communicate with other positioning device to determinethe position of the passenger, the passenger terminal 130, the driver,and/or the driver terminal 140. In some embodiments, the passengerterminal 130 and/or the driver terminal 140 may send positioninginformation to the server 110.

The database 150 may store data and/or instructions. In someembodiments, the database 150 may store data obtained/acquired from thepassenger terminal 130 and/or the driver terminal 140. In someembodiments, the database 150 may store data and/or instructions thatthe server 110 may execute or use to perform exemplary methods describedin the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the database 150 mayinclude a mass storage, a removable storage, a volatile read-and-writememory, a read-only memory (ROM), or the like, or any combinationthereof. Exemplary mass storage may include a magnetic disk, an opticaldisk, a solid-state drive, etc. Exemplary removable storage may includea flash drive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zipdisk, a magnetic tape, etc. Exemplary volatile read-and-write memory mayinclude a random access memory (RAM). Exemplary RAM may include adynamic RAM (DRAM), a double date rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDRSDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and azero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc. Exemplary ROM may include a mask ROM(MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (PEROM),an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a compact disk ROM(CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk ROM, etc. In some embodiments,the database 150 may be implemented on a cloud platform. Merely by wayof example, the cloud platform may include a private cloud, a publiccloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, aninter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the database 150 may be connected to the network120 to communicate with one or more components in the system 100 (e.g.,the server 110, the passenger terminal 130, the driver terminal 140,etc.). One or more components in the system 100 may access the data orinstructions stored in the database 150 via the network 120. In someembodiments, the database 150 may be directly connected to orcommunicate with one or more components in the system 100 (e.g., theserver 110, the passenger terminal 130, the driver terminal 140, etc.).In some embodiments, the database 150 may be part of the server 110.

In some embodiments, one or more components in the system 100 (e.g., theserver 110, the passenger terminal 130, the driver terminal 140, etc.)may have a permission to access the database 150. In some embodiments,one or more components in the system 100 may read and/or modifyinformation related to the passenger, driver, and/or the public when oneor more conditions are met. For example, the server 110 may read and/ormodify one or more users' information after a service. As anotherexample, the driver terminal 140 may access information related to thepassenger when receiving a service request from the passenger terminal130, but the driver terminal 140 may not modify the relevant informationof the passenger.

In some embodiments, information exchanging of one or more components inthe system 100 may be achieved by way of requesting a service. Theobject of the service request may be any product. In some embodiments,the product may be a tangible product, or an immaterial product. Thetangible product may include food, medicine, commodity, chemicalproduct, electrical appliance, clothing, car, housing, luxury, or thelike, or any combination thereof. The immaterial product may include aservicing product, a financial product, a knowledge product, an internetproduct, or the like, or any combination thereof. The internet productmay include an individual host product, a web product, a mobile internetproduct, a commercial host product, an embedded product, or the like, orany combination thereof. The mobile internet product may be used in asoftware of a mobile terminal, a program, a system, or the like, or anycombination thereof. The mobile terminal may include a tablet computer,a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistance (PDA),a smart watch, a point of sale (FOS) device, an onboard computer, anonboard television, a wearable device, or the like, or any combinationthereof. For example, the product may be any software and/or applicationused in the computer or mobile phone. The software and/or applicationmay relate to socializing, shopping, transporting, entertainment,learning, investment, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the software and/or application relating to transportingmay include a traveling software and/or application, a vehiclescheduling software and/or application, a mapping software and/orapplication, etc. In the vehicle scheduling software and/or application,the vehicle may include a horse, a carriage, a rickshaw (e.g., awheelbarrow, a bike, a tricycle, etc.), a car (e.g., a taxi, a bus, aprivate car, etc.), a train, a subway, a vessel, an aircraft (e.g., anairplane, a helicopter, a space shuttle, a rocket, a hot-air balloon,etc.), or the like, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware andsoftware components of a computing device 200 on which the server 110,the passenger terminal 130, and/or the driver terminal 140 may beimplemented according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Forexample, the processing engine 112 may be implemented on the computingdevice 200 and configured to perform functions of the processing engine112 disclosed in the present disclosure.

The computing device 200 may be used to implement an on-demand systemfor the present disclosure. The computing device 200 may implement anycomponent of the on-demand service as described herein. In FIGS. 1-2,only one such computer device is shown purely for convenience purposes.One of ordinary skill in the art would understood at the time of filingof this application that the computer functions relating to theon-demand service as described herein may be implemented in adistributed fashion on a number of similar platforms, to distribute theprocessing load.

The computing device 200, for example, may include COM ports 250connected to and from a network connected thereto to facilitate datacommunications. The computing device 200 may also include a centralprocessor 220, in the form of one or more processors, for executingprogram instructions. The exemplary computer platform may include aninternal communication bus 210, a program storage and a data storage ofdifferent forms, for example, a disk 270, and a read only memory (ROM)230, or a random access memory (RAM) 240, for various data files to beprocessed and/or transmitted by the computer. The exemplary computerplatform may also include program instructions stored in the ROM 230,the RAM 240, and/or other type of non-transitory storage medium to beexecuted by the processor 220. The methods and/or processes of thepresent disclosure may be implemented as the program instructions. Thecomputing device 200 may also include an I/O component 260, supportinginput/output between the computer and other components therein such as auser interface element 280. The computing device 200 may also receiveprogramming and data via network communications.

Merely for illustration, only one processor 220 is described in thecomputing device 200. However, it should be note that the computingdevice 200 in the present disclosure may also include multipleprocessors, thus operations and/or method steps that are performed byone processor 220 as described in the present disclosure may also bejointly or separately performed by the multiple processors. For example,if in the present disclosure the processor 220 of the computing device200 executes both step A and step B, it should be understood that step Aand step B may also be performed by two different processors jointly orseparately in the computing device 200 (e.g., the first processorexecutes step A and the second processor executes step B, or the firstand second processors jointly execute steps A and B).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary processing engine112 according to some embodiments. The processing engine 112 may includean obtaining module 310, a determination module 320, a sending module330, and a configuration module 340. The modules may be hardwarecircuits of all or part of the processing engine 112. The modules mayalso be implemented as an application or set of instructions read andexecuted by the processing engine. Further, the modules may be acombination of the hardware circuits and the application/instructions.For example, the modules may be the part of the processing engine 112when the processing engine is executing the application/set ofinstructions.

The obtaining module 310 may be configured to obtain information from awireless device (e.g., the passenger terminal 130, the driver terminal140, etc.). For example, the obtaining module 310 may obtain apositioning request from the wireless device. As another example, theobtaining module 310 may obtain WiFi data from the wireless device. Asstill another example, the obtaining module 310 may obtain a trace oflocations of the wireless device according to GPS signals associatedwith the wireless device.

The determination module 320 may be configured to determine informationrelated to the service request. For example, the determination module330 may determine a default location of the wireless device. As anotherexample, the determination module 330 may determine at least onecandidate WiFi fingerprint from a WiFi fingerprint library based onsimilarity between the WiFi fingerprint and reference WiFi fingerprintsin the WiFi fingerprint library.

The sending module 340 may be configured to send information related tothe service request to the wireless device. For example, the sendingmodule 340 may send the default location to the wireless device. Asanother example, the sending module 340 may send a candidate defaultlocation and a corresponding overall probability value that thecandidate default location is the default location to the wirelessdevice.

The configuration module 340 may be configured to establish a WiFifingerprint library. For example, the configuration module 340 collect aWiFi fingerprint detected by each wireless device of a plurality ofwireless devices that appeared within a distance from a structure. Asanother example, the configuration module 340 may establish the WiFifingerprint library based on the WiFi fingerprint collected from theplurality of wireless devices. As still another example, theconfiguration module 340 may label the structure onto a map.

The modules in the processing engine 112 may be connected to orcommunicate with each other via a wired connection or a wirelessconnection. The wired connection may include a metal cable, an opticalcable, a hybrid cable, or the like, or any combination thereof. Thewireless connection may include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide AreaNetwork (WAN), a Bluetooth™, a ZigBee™, a Near Field Communication(NFC), or the like, or any combination thereof. Two or more of themodules may be combined as a single module, and any one of the modulesmay be divided into two or more units. For example, the obtaining module310 may be integrated in the sending module 340 as a single module whichmay both obtain the positioning request from the wireless device andsend the default location to the wireless device. As still anotherexample, the configuration module 340 may be divided into three units ofa collecting unit, a labeling unit, and a establishing unit to implementthe functions of the configuration module 340, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process and/or method 400 forlocating a wireless device according to some embodiments. In someembodiments, the process 400 may be implemented in the system 100illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the process 400 may be stored in thedatabase 150 and/or the storage (e.g., the ROM 230, the RAM 240, etc.)as a form of instructions, and invoked and/or executed by the server 110(e.g., the processing engine 112 in the server 110, the processor 220 ofthe processing engine 112 in the server 110, or one or more componentsin the processing engine 112 illustrated in FIG. 3).

In step 410, the processor 220 may obtain a positioning request from awireless device.

The processor 220 may be a computer server processor in an onlineon-demand service platform (e.g., such as transportation serviceplatform), such as the system 100. In some embodiments, the positioningrequest may be included in a service request, such as when a passengerrequests a taxi service. For example, when a passenger terminal 130sends a service request to the server 110 through an applicationimplemented in a passenger terminal (e.g., a wireless device such as asmart phone) of the passenger, the passenger terminal may include apositioning request in the service request. Accordingly, the processor220 may obtain the positioning request from the passenger terminal 130.

In some embodiments, the wireless device may be in communication with atleast one WiFi network. The positioning request may include a useridentifier of the wireless device, at least one WiFi network detectedfrom the wireless device, a trace of locations of the wireless deviceaccording to GPS signal associated with the wireless device, a time ofthe positioning request, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In step 420, the processor 220 may obtain WiFi data from the wirelssdevice.

In some embodiments, the WiFi data may include an identity of a WiFi, asignal strength of the WiFi, an Internet protocol address, a router, adomain name server (DNS), or the like, or any combination thereof. Insome embodiments, the WiFi data may be displayed as a form of a WiFilist. In some embodiments, the WiFi data may be associated with at leastone structure. For example, the at least one structure may be one ormore buildings, bridges, construction sites, or subway stations, or thelike, or combinations thereof, such as a house, a shopping mall, or aarchitectural complex. The at least one structure may also be one ormore bridges, construction sites, subway stations, or the like. The WiFidata may be obtained inside or among the at least one structure.

In step 430, the processor 220 may determine a default locationassociated with the WiFi data as a location of the wireless device.

In some embodiments, the default location may include a predeterminedlocation determined by the server 110 of the on-demand service system100. For example, the default location may include an entrance of astructure, an exit of the structure, a parking lot around the structure,a bus stop around the structure, a crossing of a road around thestructure, a particular place inside the structure, a geometric centerof a structure, a pre-determined weighted center of a structure, or thelike, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the defaultlocation may be send to the on-demand system 100 as a starting positionof the request. For example, when a user of the wireless devicerequesting for a taxi through the on-demand system 100, the entrance ofthe structure associated with the WiFi data may be send to the on-demandsystem 100 as the starting location of the request for the taxi. In someembodiments, the method of determination of the default location basedon the WiFi data may be described as the process 600 illustrated in FIG.6 and the process 800 illustrated in FIG. 8 in the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 500 for locating awireless device according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, theprocessor 220 may perform one or more operations as described in bothFIG. 4 and FIG. 5 for locating the wireless device. In some embodiments,the process 500 may be implemented in the system 100 illustrated inFIG. 1. For example, the process 500 may be stored in the database 150and/or the storage (e.g., the ROM 230, the RAM 240, etc.) as a form ofinstructions, and invoked and/or executed by the server 110 (e.g., theprocessing engine 112 in the server 110, the processor 220 of theprocessing engine 112 in the server 110, or one or more components inthe processing engine 112 illustrated in FIG. 3).

In step 510, the processor 220 may obtain a trace of the locations of awireless device according to GPS signals associated with the wirelessdevice.

In some embodiments, the wireless device may include a GPS application,and therefore, may receive GPS signal about its own location. Thewireless device may remain communication with the processor 220 throughthe system 100. Therefore, the processor 220 may receive the GPSlocation and/or signal from the wireless device. By continuouslymonitoring the GPS location of the wireless device, the processor 220may obtain a trace of the location of the wireless device according tothe GPS signals.

When a service requester carries the wireless device into the at leastone structure, such as when the service requester enters a shoppingmall, the GPS signals may be shielded by the at least one structure.Meanwhile, the wireless device may connect to a WiFi network in the atleast one structure. Therefore, the trace of the locations may include abreakpoint at where the at least one WiFi network is located.

In step 520, the processor 220 may determine the default location basedon the trace.

For example, when the service requester carries the wireless device andenters a building shielding the GPS signals, a breakpoint of thewireless device's trace of locations may appear at the entrance of thebuilding. Therefore, when the breakpoint appears in the trace oflocations, the processor 220 may determine that the default location isan entrance associated with the at least one structure that shields theGPS signals.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may instruct the wireless deviceto select the type of signals to obtain based on the signal that thewireless device receives. For example, when the GPS signals that thewireless device receives are strong, the processor 220 may instruct thewireless device to obtain the trace of locations of the wireless deviceaccording to GPS signals. When the GPS signals that the wireless devicereceivers are weak or disappeared (e.g., the GPS signals are shielded byat least one structure), the processor 220 may instruct the wirelessdevice to obtain WiFi data at the breakpoint of the trace of locationsfor locating the wireless device.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may determine the defaultlocation based on both the WiFi data obtained in step 420 and the GPSsignals obtained in step 510. For example, the processor 220 maydetermine the default location as an entrance of a structure associatedwith the WiFi data. The structure shields the GPS signals, and the WiFidata is obtained at the breakpoint of the trace of the locationsaccording to the GPS signals. The processor 220 may also determine thatthe default location is a predetermined place associated with thestructure. For example, other than the entrance of the structure, theprocessor 220 may determine that the default location is a bus stationnear the structure where both the service requester and the serviceprovider are convenient to meet.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 600 for determining adefault location of a wireless device according to some embodiments. Insome embodiments, the process 600 may be implemented in the system 100illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the process 600 may be stored in thedatabase 150 and/or the storage (e.g., the ROM 230, the RAM 240, etc.)as a form of instructions, and invoked and/or executed by the server 110(e.g., the processing engine 112 in the server 110, the processor 220 ofthe processing engine 112 in the server 110, or one or more componentsin the processing engine 112 illustrated in FIG. 3).

For example, after the wireless device enters the at least one structureand fails to receive GPS signal, the wireless device may collect WiFiinformation around it and send a WiFi fingerprint to the system 100.Accordingly, the system 100 may receive the WiFi fingerprint after thebreakpoint of the trace of location appears, and then determine thedefault location of the wireless device according to the WiFifingerprint.

In step 610, the processor 220 may receive a WiFi fingerprint detectedby a wireless device. In some embodiments, the wireless device maycommunicate with at least one WiFi network to obtain a WiFi list. Forexample, when the service requester enters in a shopping mall (i.e., abuilding) where the GPS signal is too weak, the wireless device mayconnect to a WiFi network in the shopping mall, and then obtain a listof WiFis available in the shopping mall. The WiFi list may be all WiFislocated in the at least one structure, such as the shopping mall.Alternatively, the WiFi list may be part of the WiFis located in the atleast one structure. The WiFi list may include a plurality of WiFiidentifiers, a plurality of corresponding receive signal strengths, aplurality of corresponding status, or the like, or any combinationthereof. The processor 220 may determine the WiFi fingerprint from theWiFi list.

In some embodiments, the WiFi fingerprint may include a set of statusesof WiFi signals at some locations. For example, the WiFi fingerprint mayinclude identifications (i.e., IDs) of a set of WiFis, which includesall or part of the WiFis detected by the wireless device at a location.The WiFi fingerprint may also include a signal strength of each of theset of WiFis, a security status of each of the set of WiFis, aprotection status of each of the set of WiFis, and/or a lock status ofeach of the set of WiFis, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In step 620, the processor 220 may determine at least one candidate WiFifingerprint from a WiFi fingerprint library based on similarity betweenthe WiFi fingerprint and reference WiFi fingerprints in the WiFifingerprint library.

The WiFi fingerprint library may be a collection of a plurality ofreference WiFi fingerprints at reference locations in the at least onestructures. The library may be implemented as a form of database storedin the system 100, or a database accessible through a WiFi network inthe at least one structures, thereby available to processor 220 throughthe wireless device. The reference locations and the reference WiFifingerprints in the library may be of a one-to-one relation, or may bein a multiple-to-multiple relation. Accordingly, the candidate defaultlocations and their corresponding candidate WiFi fingerprints may be ofone-to-one relation, or may be in a multiple-to-multiple relation. Forexample, each of the at least one candidate WiFi fingerprint may beassociated with at least one candidate default location; and eachcandidate default location may be associated with at least one candidateWiFi fingerprint.

In some embodiments, the WiFi fingerprint library may be predeterminedand stored in the database 150 and/or the storage (e.g., the ROM 230,the RAM 240, etc.). In some embodiments, the WiFi fingerprint librarymay be established as the process 900 illustrated in FIG. 9 in thepresent disclosure. In some embodiments, the processor 220 may updatethe WiFi fingerprint library after a locating process of each wirelessdevice.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may determine the similaritybetween the WiFi fingerprint and reference WiFi fingerprints in the WiFifingerprint library by matching the WiFi fingerprint with the referenceWiFi fingerprints in the WiFi fingerprint library to determine the atleast one candidate WiFi fingerprint. For example, the WiFi fingerprintmay be matched with the reference WiFi fingerprints in the WiFifingerprint library according to a matching algorithm. The matchingalgorithm may include a distance algorithm, a similarity algorithm, aHashing algorithm, or the like, or any combination thereof. The distancealgorithm may include a Euclidean distance algorithm, a Manhattandistance algorithm, a Chebyshev distance algorithm, a Mahalanobisdistance algorithm, or the like, or any combination thereof. Thesimilarity algorithm may include a cosine similarity algorithm, aPearson correlation coefficient algorithm, a Jaccard coefficientalgorithm, an adjusted cosine similarity algorithm, or the like, or anycombination thereof. The Hashing algorithm may include a minHashalgorithm, a simHash algorithm, etc.

For illustration purpose, the cosine similarity algorithm may bedescribed herein as an example to determine the at least one candidateWiFi fingerprint from the WiFi fingerprint library. The WiFi fingerprintand a WiFi fingerprint in the WiFi fingerprint library may berepresented as two vectors. The similarity between the two vectors maybe measured by a cosine of an angle of the two vectors. The vector ofthe WiFi fingerprint may be represented as vector A: A=(A1, A2, . . . ,An). The vector of the WiFi fingerprint in the WiFi fingerprint librarymay be represented as vector B: B=(B1, B2, . . . , Bn). The cosine valueof the vector A and the vector B may be represented as formula 1:

$\begin{matrix}{{\cos \; \theta} = \frac{\sum\limits_{1}^{n}\left( {A_{i}*B_{i}} \right)}{\sqrt{\sum\limits_{1}^{n}A_{i}^{2}}*\sqrt{\sum\limits_{1}^{n}B_{i}^{2}}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

The cosine value is within a range from −1 to 1. The angel of the vectorA and the vector B is close to 0 degree when the corresponding cosinevalue is close to 1.

In some embodiments, the corresponding cosine value that is larger thana predetermined threshold may be determined as the at least onecandidate WiFi fingerprint. The predetermined threshold may be variedaccording to different application seniors. For example, thepredetermined threshold may be within a range from 0.6 to 1. As anotherexample, the predetermined threshold may be within a range from 0.7to 1. As still another example, the predetermined threshold may be 0.8to 1.

In some embodiments, the operations of the illustrated process 600presented above are intended to be illustrative. The process 600 may beaccomplished with one or more additional operations not described. Forexample, before receiving the WiFi fingerprint detected by the wirelessdevice in step 610, the processor 220 may determine a rough position ofthe wireless device. The rough position of the wireless device mayinclude a position inside a structure, a position outside a structure, aposition among a group of structures, or the like, or any combinationthereof. For example, the processor 220 may implement step 610 forreceiving the WiFi fingerprint detected by the wireless device whenfirst determining the wireless device locates inside the structure oramong the group of structures.

For illustration purpose, FIG. 7 shows a diagram of an exemplaryrelationship between the at least one candidate WiFi fingerprint and theat least one candidate default location. The relationship between the atleast one candidate WiFi fingerprint and the at least one candidatedefault location may be represented as a connection of a line. Forexample, the candidate WiFi fingerprint 1 is associated with thecandidate default location 1 and candidate default location 2. Thecandidate WiFi fingerprint 2 is associated with candidate defaultlocation 2. Candidate WiFi fingerprint 3 is associated with candidatedefault location 1, candidate default location 3, candidate defaultlocation 4 and candidate default location 4. As another example, thecandidate default location 1 is associated with the candidate WiFifingerprint 1 and the candidate WiFi fingerprint 4. The candidatedefault location 2 is associated with the candidate WiFi fingerprint 1,the candidate WiFi fingerprint 2 and the candidate WiFi fingerprint 4.The candidate default location 3 is associated with the candidate WiFifingerprint 3.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 800 for determining adefault location according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, theprocess 800 may be implemented in the system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1.For example, the process 800 may be stored in the database 150 and/orthe storage (e.g., the ROM 230, the RAM 240, etc.) as a form ofinstructions, and invoked and/or executed by the server 110 (e.g., theprocessing engine 112 in the server 110, the processor 220 of theprocessing engine 112 in the server 110, or one or more components inthe processing engine 112 illustrated in FIG. 3). In some embodiments,the process 800 may be implemented for each candidate default locationof the at least one candidate default location illustrated in FIG. 6.

In some embodiments, for a candidate default location of the at leastone candidate default location, the processor 220 may identify one ormore candidate WiFi fingerprints associated with the candidate defaultlocation. For example, the processor 220 may identify the one or morecandidate WiFi fingerprint associated with the candidate defaultlocation from the WiFi fingerprint library.

In step 810, for each of the one or more candidate WiFi fingerprint, theprocessor 220 may determine a probability component contributed by thecandidate WiFi fingerprint, wherein the probability component isassociated with a probability that the candidate default location is thedefault location.

In some embodiments, each candidate default location associated with atleast one candidate WiFi fingerprint may include a probability componentcontributed by each candidate WiFi fingerprint of the at least onecandidate WiFi fingerprint. The probability component may include aprobability that the candidate default location is the default location.For example, the probability component may include a confidencecoefficient, a differentiation degree (e.g., a changing difference ofthe WiFi fingerprint similarity with a distance), a similarity, or thelike, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the probabilitycomponent contributed by each candidate WiFi fingerprint associated withthe candidate default location may be stored in the WiFi fingerprintlibrary. The processor 220 may determine the probability componentcontributed by each candidate WiFi fingerprint from the WiFi fingerprintlibrary. For illustration purpose, the probability component of thecandidate default location 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 may be described asan example. The candidate WiFi fingerprint 1 may contribute 50% to thecandidate default location 1 that the candidate default location 1 isthe default location. The candidate WiFi fingerprint 3 may contribute35% to the candidate default location 1 that the candidate defaultlocation 1 is the default location.

In step 820, the processor 220 may determine an overall probabilityvalue that the candidate default location is the default location basedon the one or more probability components.

For example, the overall probability value of the candidate defaultlocation 1 may be determined based on the 50% contributed by thecandidate WiFi fingerprint 1, the 35% contributed by the candidate WiFifingerprint 2, and 15% contributed by other candidate WiFi fingerprint.In some embodiments, the overall probability value that the candidatedefault location is the default location may include a joint probabilityof the at least one probability component. For example, the overallprobability value may include a joint confidence coefficient, a jointdifferentiation degree, a joint similarity, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the processor 220 maydetermine a list of at least one overall probability value of the atleast one candidate default location.

In step 830, the processor 220 may determine a default location from theat least one candidate default location based on the at least oneoverall probability value. In some embodiments, the processor 220 maydetermine the default location from the at least one candidate defaultlocation based on the list of the at least one overall probability valueof the at least one candidate default location.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may determine the candidatedefault location that has an overall probability value larger than aprobability threshold as the default location. In some embodiments, theprobability threshold may be predetermined by the on-demand system 100.In some embodiments, the probability threshold may be varied accordingto different application scenarios of the on-demand system 100.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may determine an order and/orranking of each candidate default location based on the overallprobability value thereof. The order and/or ranking may include anascending order, a descending order, etc. The processor 220 may select acandidate default location with the highest overall probability value asthe default location. Alternatively, the processor 220 may determine apredetermined number of candidate default locations as the defaultlocation. In some embodiments, the default location may be at least one.In some embodiments, the predetermined number may be determined by theon-demand system 100. In some embodiments, the predetermined number maybe varied according to different application scenarios of the on-demandsystem 100.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may send the default location andthe overall probability value of the default location to the wirelessdevice. The default location may include at least one. The user of thewireless device may select one of the at least one default location as afinal default location. In some embodiments, the default location of thewireless device may be identified for the user to search quickly. Insome embodiments, the default location may be sent to the user of thewireless device based on a location result of the last time and apredetermined probability for jumping to the default location.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 900 for establishing aWiFi fingerprint library according to some embodiments. In someembodiments, the process 900 may be implemented in the system 100illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the process 900 may be stored in thedatabase 150 and/or the storage (e.g., the ROM 230, the RAM 240, etc.)as a form of instructions, and invoked and/or executed by the server 110(e.g., the processing engine 112 in the server 110, the processor 220 ofthe processing engine 112 in the server 110, or one or more componentsin the processing engine 112 illustrated in FIG. 3).

In step 910, the processor 220 may collect a WiFi fingerprint detectedby each wireless device of a plurality of wireless devices that appearedwithin a distance from a structure.

In some embodiments, the WiFi fingerprint may include a WiFi, a signalstrength of the WiFi, a security status, a protection status, a lockstatus, a number of appearance of the WiFi at a structure, or the like,or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may collect a trace of locationsaccording to GPS signals detected by the each wireless device of theplurality of wireless devices that appeared within the distance from thestructure. In some embodiments, the trace of locations may be shieldedby the structure. The trace of locations of the GPS signals may includea breakpoint. The WiFi fingerprint may be detected at the breakpoint ofthe trace of locations of the GPS signals. In some embodiments, thedistance may be determined by the on-demand system 100. In someembodiments, the distance may be varied according to differentapplication scenarios of the on-demand system 100.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may collect the WiFi fingerprintdetected by each wireless device of a plurality of wireless devices thatappeared within a distance from a structure within a period of time. Theperiod of time may be predetermined by the on-demand system 100. Forexample, the period of time may include a year, a month, a week, a day,an hour, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may collect the WiFi fingerprintdetected by the each wireless device of the plurality of wirelessdevices based on a predetermined criterion. The predetermined criterionmay include a determination that the breakpoint of each trace oflocations of the GPS signals is detected at the same or similarlocation.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may determine the number ofappearance of each WiFi at the structure. The processor 220 maydetermine the WiFi fingerprint of each WiFi based on the number ofappearance.

In step 920, the processor 220 may establish a WiFi fingerprint librarybased on the WiFi fingerprints collected from the plurality of wirelessdevices.

In some embodiments, the WiFi fingerprint library may be stored in thedatabase 150 and/or the storage (e.g., the ROM 230, the RAM 240, etc.).In some embodiments, the processor 220 may update the WiFi fingerprintlibrary after a locating process of each wireless device.

In some embodiments, the processor 220 may establish the WiFifingerprint library in virtue of an interface of a map including aplurality of structures. The interface of the map may be divided into aplurality of areas. Each structure of the plurality of structures may belabeled onto the center of corresponding area of the plurality of areas.The breakpoint of each trace of locations according to the GPS signalsmay be labeled on the corresponding structure on the map. In someembodiments, the processor 22 may determine that the breakpoints on themap associated with a structure of the plurality of structures detectedby the plurality of wireless devices are the same or similar to collectthe corresponding WiFi fingerprints.

For illustration purpose, the map may be divides into several meshareas. The center of each mesh area may be represented as {P₀, P₁, P₂, .. . , P_(n)}, and n represents the number of the mesh areas. Thebreakpoint of each trace of locations according to GPS signals may belabeled on the corresponding center of the mesh areas based on the GPSsignals detected by the plurality of wireless devices. The breakpointsmay be determined at the same or similar center of the mesh areas. TheWiFi that the plurality of wireless devices detected may be representedas {W₀, W₁, W₂, . . . , W_(m)}, and m represents the number of WiFi. Theprocessor 220 may determine the number of appearance of each WiFi at thecenter of the mesh areas as p (P_(Wi)=P_(i)). The WiFi fingerprint ofeach WiFi may be represented as FP_(Wi)={p (P_(Wi)=P_(i)), i=0, 1, 2, .. . }. The WiFi fingerprint library may be established based on the WiFifingerprint of each WiFi.

Having thus described the basic concepts, it may be rather apparent tothose skilled in the art after reading this detailed disclosure that theforegoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way ofexample only and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, andmodifications may occur and are intended to those skilled in the art,though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, andmodifications are intended to be suggested by the present disclosure,and are within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

Moreover, certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments ofthe present disclosure. For example, the terms “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” and/or “some embodiments” mean that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or morereferences to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” or “an alternativeembodiment” in various portions of this specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures or characteristics may be combined assuitable in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Further, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects ofthe present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any ofa number of patentable classes or context including any new and usefulprocess, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new anduseful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combiningsoftware and hardware implementation that may all generally be referredto herein as a “block,” “module,” “engine,” “unit,” “component,” or“system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take theform of a computer program product embodied in one or more computerreadable media having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including electro-magnetic, optical, or thelike, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signalmedium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computerreadable storage medium and that may communicate, propagate, ortransport a program for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on acomputer readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriatemedium, including wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, or thelike, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB, NET,Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 1703, Perl, COBOL1702, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby andGroovy, or other programming languages. The program code may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as aservice such as a software as a service (SaaS).

Furthermore, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, orthe use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, is notintended to limit the claimed processes and methods to any order exceptas may be specified in the claims. Although the above disclosurediscusses through various examples what is currently considered to be avariety of useful embodiments of the disclosure, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose, and that the appendedclaims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on thecontrary, are intended to cover modifications and equivalentarrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosedembodiments. For example, although the implementation of variouscomponents described above may be embodied in a hardware device, it mayalso be implemented as a software-only solution—e.g., an installation onan existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofembodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimesgrouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereoffor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in theunderstanding of one or more of the various embodiments. This method ofdisclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intentionthat the claimed subject matter requires more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, claimed subject matter may liein less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.

1. A system configured to locate a wireless device having wirelessfidelity (WiFi) capability, comprising: at least one storage mediumincluding a set of instructions for locating a wireless device havingwireless fidelity (WiFi) capability; and logic circuits in communicationwith the at least one storage medium, wherein when executing the set ofinstructions, the logic circuits is directed to: obtain electronicsignals including a positioning request from the wireless device, thewireless device being in communication with at least one WiFi network;obtain electronic signals including WiFi data from the wireless device;and determine a default location associated with the WiFi data as alocation of the wireless device.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theWiFi data is associated with at least one structure, and the defaultlocation includes an entrance of the at least one structure.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the at least one structure shields globalpositioning system (GPS) signals.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thewireless device has global positioning system (GPS) capability, and thelogic circuits are further directed to: obtain electronic signalsincluding a trace of locations of the wireless device according to GPSsignals associated with the wireless device, the trace including abreakpoint at where the at least one WiFi network is located; anddetermine the default location based on the trace.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein to determine the default location associated with theWiFi data, the logic circuits are further directed to: receiveelectronic signals including a WiFi fingerprint detected by the wirelessdevice; and determine at least one candidate WiFi fingerprint from aWiFi fingerprint library based on similarity between the WiFifingerprint and reference WiFi fingerprints in the WiFi fingerprintlibrary, each of the at least one candidate WiFi fingerprint beingassociated with at least one candidate default location and eachcandidate default location being associated with at least one candidateWiFi fingerprint.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the WiFi fingerprintincludes a combination of: identity of at least one WiFi detected by thewireless device; and signal strength of the at least one WiFi.
 7. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein to determine the default location associatedwith the WiFi data, the logic circuits are further directed to, for acandidate default location of the at least one candidate defaultlocation, identify one or more candidate WiFi fingerprints associatedwith the candidate default location, for each of the one or morecandidate WiFi fingerprint, determine a probability componentcontributed by the candidate WiFi fingerprint and associated with aprobability that the candidate default location is the default location,and determine an overall probability value that the candidate defaultlocation is the default location based on the one or more probabilitycomponents; and determine the default location from the at least onecandidate default location based on the at least one overall probabilityvalue.
 8. The system of claim 5, wherein the logic circuits are furtherdirected to: for each of a plurality of wireless devices that appearedwithin a distance from the structure, collect a WiFi fingerprintdetected by the wireless device; and establish the WFi fingerprintlibrary based on the WiFi fingerprints collected from the plurality ofwireless device.
 9. A method configured to locate a wireless devicehaving wireless fidelity (WiFi) capability, comprising: obtaining, by anelectronic device, electronic signals including a positioning requestfrom the wireless device, the wireless device being in communicationwith at least one WiFi network; obtaining, by the electronic device,electronic signals including WiFi data from the wireless device; anddetermine, by the electronic device, a default location associated withthe WiFi data as a location of the wireless device.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the WiFi data is associated with at least onestructure, and the default location includes an entrance of the at leastone structure.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least onestructure shields the global positioning system (GPS) signals.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the wireless device has global positioningsystem (GPS) capability, and the method further comprising: obtaining,by the electronic device, electronic signals including a trace oflocations of the wireless device according to GPS signals associatedwith the wireless device, the trace including a breakpoint at where theat least one WiFi network is located; and determining, by the electronicdevice, the default location based on the trace.
 13. The method of claim9, wherein the determining of the default location associated with theWiFi data comprising: receiving electronic signals including a WiFifingerprint detected by the wireless device; and determining at leastone candidate WiFi fingerprint from a WFi fingerprint library based onsimilarity between the WiFi fingerprint and reference WiFi fingerprintsin the WiFi fingerprint library, each of the at least one candidate WiFifingerprint being associated with at least one candidate defaultlocation and each candidate default location being associated with atleast one candidate WiFi fingerprint.
 14. The method of claim 13,wherein the WiFi fingerprint includes a combination of: identity of atleast one WiFi detected by the wireless device; and signal strength ofthe at least one WiFi.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein thedetermining of the default location associated with the WiFi datafurther comprising: for a candidate default location of the at least onecandidate default location, identifying one or more candidate WiFifingerprints associated with the candidate default location, for each ofone or more candidate WiFi fingerprint, determining a probabilitycomponent contributed by the candidate WiFi fingerprint and associatedwith a probability that the candidate default location is the defaultlocation, and determining an overall probability value that thecandidate default location is the default location based on the one ormore probability components; and determining the default location fromthe at least one candidate default location based on the at least oneoverall probability value.
 16. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: for each of a plurality of wireless devices that appearedwithin a distance from the structure, collecting, by the electronicdevice, a WiFi fingerprint detected by the wireless device; andestablishing, by the electronic device, the WiFi fingerprint librarybased on the WiFi fingerprints collected from the plurality of wirelessdevice.
 17. A non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising atleast one set of instructions for locating a wireless device havingwireless fidelity (WiFi) capability, wherein when executed by logiccircuits of an electronic device, the at least one set of instructionsdirects the logic circuits to perform acts of: obtaining electronicsignals including a positioning request from the wireless device, thewireless device being in communication with at least one WiFi network;obtaining electronic signals including WiFi data from the wirelessdevice; and determine a default ocation associated with the WiFi data asa location of the wireless device.
 18. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 17, wherein the WFi data is associated with atleast one structure, and the default location includes an entrance ofthe at least one structure.
 19. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 18, wherein the at least one structure shields theglobal positioning system (GPS) signals.
 20. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 17, the at least one set of instructionsfurther directs the logic circuits to perform acts of: obtainingelectronic signals including a trace of locations of the wireless deviceaccording to GPS signals associated with the wireless device, the traceincluding a breakpoint at where the at least one WFi network is located;and determining the default location based on the trace.